


She Only Looks Like You

by OverlyCheerfulRat



Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: Caretaking, Disabled Character, Gen, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-27 01:21:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19780324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverlyCheerfulRat/pseuds/OverlyCheerfulRat
Summary: After their mother's death, Titus hires a maid who looks just like her, hoping she can calm his extremely mentally ill brother.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [realisations](https://archiveofourown.org/users/realisations/gifts).



> had this idea at 2am and i'm fuckin runnin with it

As a child, Titus never had friends. He attended a private school, and the other students fawned over him (possibly on their parents’ orders) but he steadfastly refused to invite any of them over to play. He understood very early that his brother was not ill, as their mother claimed, but insane and an embarrassment. Titus didn’t know how he would cope if one of his classmates came over and heard Balem screaming at nothing, or saw him wandering through the house in a daze until Mr. Night or Seraphi brought him back to his room. 

There was a six-year age gap between them, which gave Titus an excuse to avoid Balem as much as possible. Occasionally, Seraphi insisted he go talk to his brother, and he was twelve the last time he let her convince him. Balem had just turned twenty, and Titus stood awkwardly in the doorway after entering his room. Balem, who was staring out the window, turned to look at him, and gave him a twitchy smile. “Hello,” he whispered, and Titus noted with relief that he seemed stable enough. “Hello. How have you been?” Balem shrugged and turned back to the window. “I like the snow,” he answered after a moment. “You want to go outside?”

Titus regretted his offer immediately, but after his brother agreed he couldn’t take it back. Shortly afterward, holding Balem’s cold hand tightly, he led him out into the bright winter day. “It’s beautiful,” Balem said happily, and Titus patted his arm. They ended up walking as far as the pond, where the pleasant day was immediately shattered by Balem asking if they could go swimming.

“No, it’s too cold,” Titus responded nervously. “It isn’t cold,” Balem muttered. “It’s snowing, Balem, you can’t-” “IT ISN’T COLD!” His brother’s sudden screaming didn’t startle Titus as much as Balem striking him across the face. He watched Balem walk away calmly, as if nothing had happened, and step into the pond, apparently unheeding of the temperature. “Get out of there,” Titus said warily, but Balem ignored him. Instead of pulling him out, Titus ran back to the house and fetched Seraphi, the only person who could make Balem do anything. 

It took a while, but she eventually coaxed her son out of the pond and back to the house, where she wrapped him carefully in blankets. “There we go, baby,” she said gently. “Don’t do that again, okay? Don’t scare me like that again.”


	2. Chapter 2

Titus was twenty-two when his mother died. Everyone quietly agreed not to invite Balem to the funeral, and Titus ordered Mr. Night not to tell him she was gone. “And what will I say when he asks for her?” “Say she’s out of town,” Titus snapped. Mr. Night nodded calmly and did as he was told. Originally, Titus had been unsure how long he could keep that up, but the answer to his problem came in the form of an immigrant maid named Jupiter Jones. He choked on his tea when he saw her application and immediately scheduled an in-person interview.

“You look… remarkably similar to someone I once knew,” he managed after shaking her hand. “Identical, really. It’s quite stunning.” Jupiter smiled uncomfortably. “Thank you, sir, but about the job-” “Yes, yes, you’re hired,” Titus interrupted. “How soon can you start? Tomorrow?” She agreed to the next day, and as soon as she left Titus wondered how to explain the situation to her. “I need you to pretend to be my dead mother so we can calm my violently insane brother when he’s having a tantrum” was less than an ideal sales pitch.

An opportunity presented itself soon afterwards, when Jupiter ran into his office to tell him that someone was screaming upstairs. “They sound hurt,” she said frantically. Titus smiled awkwardly. “Miss Jones, this is hardly… conventional, but I have a request,” he said nervously. “My older brother, Balem, is not of sound mind. Our late mother was the only person who could get through to him, and I hired you because you resemble her so strongly. I had hoped that perhaps…” He trailed off, allowing her to draw her own conclusions. Jupiter raised her eyebrows. “You want me to imitate a dead woman?” Titus cleared his throat and nodded. “I hadn’t planned on finding someone who looked like her, it just happened that way. I don’t want to institutionalize him, but if you can’t help me, that may be my only choice.” 

Jupiter kept fidgeting as Titus led her to his brother’s room. Balem had finally stopped screaming, and when he opened the door they found him lying calmly on his back, eyes scanning the ceiling. Titus nudged Jupiter and awkwardly muttered, “She always called him baby.” “I’ve never met this man,” Jupiter hissed. “Please, Miss Jones. You understand you’ll be paid well for this.” She sighed and stepped into the room. “What are you doing over there?” Balem looked over at her and smiled, getting to his feet. “Nothing. You’ve been gone a long time, Mama, where were you?” “Uh. Business trip,” Jupiter said quickly.

The first day actually went fairly well- Jupiter got along well with Balem, and he seemed unaware that she wasn’t really his mother. That evening, Titus asked what she thought of him. “He has bruises and gashes on his arms,” she answered, frowning. “Who’s been looking after him?” “A man named Chicanery Night. He doesn’t abuse him, if that’s what you’re wondering, Balem did that to himself.” “Oh,” Jupiter said softly. Titus sat down across from her. “The earliest memory I have of my brother, we had all gone to the beach together- us, our mother, and our sister. Balem sat near the water by himself, and I thought he was playing with seashells until I walked over and saw that he was cutting his wrists with the sharp edges. He laughed and said it felt good. We went home fairly quickly after that.”


	3. Chapter 3

A few days after Jupiter began working for him, Titus made a mental note to lay down some ground rules. He’d nearly had a heart attack when he found her attempting to teach Balem how to play chess in the library. They both seemed perfectly calm (although Balem was more interested in examining the pieces than actually playing the game) and he wondered if it was a good idea to pull Jupiter aside for a moment and tell her Balem wasn’t supposed to leave his room. But then his brother would be left unattended. Better to just subtly herd them both back there, Titus decided.

“What are you doing out here?” “Chess,” Balem responded softly, handing him a pawn. Titus patted his shoulder awkwardly. “It’s getting late, and I have some people coming over. Mother, you should take him to bed,” he said to Jupiter. “It’s not dark out,” Balem protested, and Titus shot Jupiter a warning look. She sighed and took Balem’s hand, rubbing his wrist with her thumb. “Your brother wants us to go somewhere else for now, baby. He’s having a party,” she added, immediately realizing that might have been the wrong thing to say.

“Can I go?” Titus shook his head, and Jupiter smiled weakly. “No, not this time.” Seeing the expression on his face, she quickly added, “It’ll be loud, baby, you wouldn’t like it anyway.” Balem hesitated, so Titus added, “Besides, you wouldn’t understand what we’re talking about.” “Why not?” Fuck, Titus thought. He’d hoped that would make Balem drop the subject. “Just… you wouldn’t,” he muttered. “I’m not stupid,” Balem snapped, suddenly agitated. He pulled his hand away from Jupiter and began to dig his nails into his forearm.

“No, no, I know you’re not,” Titus said desperately. “But you… you don’t know about the things they…” “You think I’m stupid,” Balem accused, getting to his feet. Jupiter rushed over to him and gently pulled his hand away from his arm, wincing at the angry red marks he’d already left on his pale skin. “Baby, look at me. Look at me,” she demanded, and Balem met her eyes after a moment. “Tell Titus I’m not stupid, Mama. Tell him I can understand him and his friends.” “He already knows that,” she assured him. Balem brightened. “Then I can go to the party?”

“W-well, you can, but I’m not going to. You don’t want to leave me all by myself, do you, baby?” Balem shook his head. “Then why don’t we get ready for bed? I’ll stay in your room tonight,” Jupiter suggested. She held her breath as Balem thought that over. “Alright,” he finally agreed.


End file.
